Sustainability
Tonight at the BSA, Join Amy Korte
Tonight, join us for a discussion hosted by the Boston Society of Architects on the topic of “Living with Water” (specifically: how climate change and storm surges may affect Boston real estate and what our community can do to mitigate these effects). Included in the panel will be Arrowstreet principal, Amy Korte.
Community Strategies Followup
As a member of the BSA Committee for the Advancement of Sustainability, I had the good fortune to help plan the Forum on Sustainable Public Policy last June. The summary of this event is available now to view and download on the BSA website, here. The intent of the forum was to share with community leaders, citizens, and practitioners the current public and private sector policies that foster and promote sustainable endeavors including buildings, infrastructure, transportation, and planning. Presenters described how these policies and efforts on several fronts cultivate, encourage, and nurture a societal shift toward a more sustainable Massachusetts. The event was jointly sponsored by USGBC Massachusetts and AIA Massachusetts and has been presented to the Massachusetts candidates for governor…
“Living with Water” Design Charrette at ABX
Yesterday at ABX, the “Living with Water” Design Charrette was held to kick off a companion Design Challenge for the Boston design community. Mayor Marty Walsh was on hand to announce the competition and to emphasize the city’s commitment to finding solutions to climate change and rising sea levels in our coastal communities. Hosted on the second anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, the charrette invited designers, community leaders, and government officials to reflect on the new policies implemented in New York City and to consider what we here in Boston can learn from them.
LEED Project Showcase with USGBC – Part II
The USGBC MA Chapter’s 2014 LEED Project Showcase was a great success. More than 150 people representing all aspects of the green building industry including designers, engineers, contractors, owners, and policy makers came out for the event in celebration of the past year’s achievements in green building. It was an amazing night to share our collective talents and wisdom as we continue to make Massachusetts the #1 most energy efficient state in the country.
LEED Project Showcase with USGBC
Over the last few months I have been planning the USGBC Massachusetts chapter’s annual LEED Project Showcase. The showcase highlights buildings throughout the state that have achieved LEED certification in the last year. Massachusetts is the #1 most energy efficient state in the country, and these projects have helped to achieve that distinction…
LEED v4 Part 1
I wanted to follow-up on my post about Greenbuild 2013, with a closer look at the new version of the LEED rating system, LEED v4. This new version is perhaps the most thorough overhaul in the rating system to date. LEED v4 includes new market sectors such as hospitality and data centers, an increase in the number of prerequisites, an increase in the credit criteria for several credits, new impact categories such as climate change and the addition of new credits such as Demand Response.
PACE Bill Update
I wanted to give an update on my previous post: Property Assessed Clean Energy. PACE is a way for property owners to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The PACE bill, now retitled Senate Bill No. 2255, has been voted in favor by the MA state Senate and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. It is…
North Jetty Building Groundbreaking
The groundbreaking for the new cold storage building we are working on for Cargo Ventures – located in the Marine Industrial Park in the Seaport – will be held in the next two weeks. The 325,000-square-foot facility will provide refrigerated space tailored to the needs of each cold storage tenant. The rooftop will be a 110,000 SF greenhouse (the size of two football fields) for a yet-to-be-announced urban agriculture grower and will generate enough food to feed 7,000 people…
Daylight Hour
Arrowstreet participated in Daylight Hour today by joining thousands of other organizations in turning off the lights in their day-lit office spaces for one hour from noon-1:00. With the beautiful sunny weather in Boston today we went even further and kept the lights off all day in most of the office. Arrowstreet has a highly energy efficient LED lighting system that uses 42% less power than typical offices. But when there is ample daylight in our open studio we want to take advantage of turning of the electric lighting system and saving even more energy.
Renewable Now Radio Guest
To learn more about Arrowstreet’s sustainable work, tune in to WARP AM 1320 (if you’re in RI, CT, or southern MA you can stream live on the internet) to hear my radio interview with Jack Gregg. He co-hosts and reviews green business efforts with creator Peter Arpin – the show’s focus is on green business, organizations, scientists, and entrepreneurs. The date and time of the show will be posted as soon as it’s available. Stay tuned!